Give your website a whole new look just by changing one thing

Chris Robley

If you’ve ever watched reality TV, you know that we humans are obsessed with the idea of radical transformation. Total home renovations; extreme weight loss programs; makeover consultations with beauticians, hairstylists, fashionistas, and more.

Most of the time though — in ACTUAL reality — you don’t need to make such drastic alterations to your body or abode. A slight change to your diet or exercise regimen yields big results. A kitchen remodel brings the whole house to life. Or just a little eyeliner does the trick. It’s about accents and minor adjustments — not becoming someone or something else entirely.

The same is often true of artists’ websites: a single tweak can have almost as much impact as a whole redesign.

Here are a few things you can change to make it look like you just got a brand new website:

1) Your background image

If you’re using one of HostBaby’s backdrop themes or have a design that displays content over a static background image, this is an obvious element to change whenever you feel like your website is getting stale. It means, of course, that you need to have another great image to use as the background. But if so, switching out the background can give your site a whole new look without having to spend hours making other design decisions.

2) Your header or top banner

This is pretty much the same concept as the background image switch, only you’re changing out the graphic elements at the top of your website (usually the part above the navigation bar). It’s amazing how much that area can determine the way we view the rest of a website as our eyes begin to scroll down. It’s as if the visual effect of the header design bleeds into the rest of our experience on the site.

3) The colors

Have you been using the same colors for a while? Play around with some new font and/or background colors. Here again, you might be surprised what a big impact a slight alteration can make.

4) Rearrange the order of your widgets

Have you been more active on Instagram lately? Move your Instagram widget up on your homepage to display those photos above-the-fold. Not so active on Facebook anymore? Move your Facebook widget down, or delete it altogether. By shifting the order of the content on your homepage, repeat visitors will notice new things.

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Have you spruced up your website with minimal changes? What did you alter? Let us know in the comments section below.